title: Incidence of Campylobacter pylori in a consecutive series of surgical patients referred for endoscopy.
abstract: Over a 9-month period, 109 consecutive patients referred from general surgical out-patient clinics for endoscopy were studied. The presenting symptoms, endoscopic diagnosis, clinical history and degree of histological gastritis were determined. The presence of the organism Campylobacter pylori in oesophageal, antral and duodenal biopsies was detected by a combination of culture, histology and fluorescence microscopy. C. pylori was identified in 49.5% of patients by at least one of the methods described. The organism was present only in antral biopsies in patients with both normal and abnormal endoscopies. The presence of C. pylori was significantly associated with the symptom of dyspepsia, and endoscopic diagnosis of peptic ulceration and a greater degree of histological gastritis. Analysis of the clinical history of the patients with a normal endoscopy suggests that a proportion of these patients (7 of 20) had previous evidence of peptic ulceration. Treatment with H2-receptor antagonists may heal ulceration but fails to eradicate C. pylori.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aitchison
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D004935:Esophageal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000382:microbiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology